INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION Lecture 5 – Internet

SYSTEMS
THE INTERNET
The Internet
The Internet refers to the physical network that links computers across the
globe. It consists of the infrastructure of network servers and communications
links between them that are used to hold and transport information between
the client PCs and web servers.
Internet service provider (ISP)
A provider enabling home or business users a connection to access the
Internet. They can also host web-based applications.
Backbones
High-speed communication links used to enable Internet communications across
a country and internationally.

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Infrastructure components of the Internet

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GROWTH OF THE INTERNET

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SOME WAYS TO USE THE INTERNET
1. E-mail
2. Research
3. Shopping
4. News
5. Games
6. Online Courses

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INTERNET PROTOCOLS - HTTP
The transfer protocol is the set of rules that the computers use to
move files from one computer to another on the Internet.
The most common transfer protocol used on the Internet is the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Another protocol that you can use on the Internet is the File Transfer
Protocol (FTP).

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INTERNET PROTOCOLS – TCP/IP
The Internet works by using a protocol called TCP/IP, or Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP/IP is the underlying communication language
of the Internet. In simple terms, TCP/IP allows one computer to talk to another
computer via the Internet through compiling packets of data and sending them
to right location.
A data packet, sometimes more formally referred to as a network packet, is a
unit of data transmitted from one location to another. A data packet is the
smallest unit of transmitted information over the Internet.
TCP, is responsible for taking large amounts of data, compiling it into packets
and sending them on their way to be received by a fellow TCP layer, which
turns the packets into useful information/data.
The Internet protocol (IP) is responsible for delivering a packet of data from
a source network to its destination network. Packets are relayed through
special-purpose computers called routers.
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WORLD WIDE WEB(WWW)
The most common technique for publishing information
on the Internet. It is accessed through web browsers which display web pages of
embedded graphics and HTML encoded text(describes document structure and
formatting ).
Web browsers(e.g. Mozilla, Chrome) are software used to access the information on
the WWW that is stored on web servers.
HTTP, the hypertext transfer protocol, is a standard used to allow web browsers and
servers to transfer requests for delivery of web pages and their embedded graphics.
The technical name for web addresses is uniform or universal resource locators
(URLs).

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CLIENT/SERVER STRUCTURE OF THE WEB
Web is a collection of files that reside on computers, called Web
servers, that are located all over the world and are connected
to each other through the Internet.
When you use your Internet connection to become part of the
Web, your computer becomes a Web client in a worldwide
client/server network.
A Web browser is the software that you run on your computer to
make it work as a web client.

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ADDRESSES ON THE WEB : IP ADDRESSING
Each computer on a network is identified by a unique identification number, called an IP (Internet
Protocol) address.
An IP address, or simply an "IP," is a unique address that identifies a device on the Internet or a
local network. It allows a system to be recognized by other systems connected via the Internet
protocol.
The two versions or formats of IP addresses currently running are IP versions 4 (IPv4) and IP versions
6 (IPv6).
IPv4
Each part of the address is a number ranging from 0 to 255, and each part is separated from the
previous part by period,
For example, 106.29.242.17
IPv6
The IPv6 addresses are represented by 8 groups of four hexadecimal digits with the groups being
supported by colons. An example is given below:
Eg: 2001:0db8:0000:0042:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
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WHAT’S IN AN ADDRESS?
Each Web page has an address, called a URL (Uniform
Resource Locator)

http://www.uccs.edu/cbrewer/index.html
protocol server domain Directory Document
(folder) (filename)

Directories can be nested, just like your Windows or

Macintosh computer.
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DOMAIN NAME ADDRESSING
Domain names can include any number of parts separated by
periods, however most domain names currently in use have
only three or four parts.
For example, the domain name udm.ac.mu is the computer
connected to the UdM, .ac means an academic institution
which is located in Mauritius(mu).
No other computer on the Internet has the same domain name.

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DOMAIN NAME ADDRESSING
Most web browsers do not use the IP address to locate Web sites and
individual pages.
They use domain name addressing.
A domain name is a unique name associated with a specific IP address
by a program that runs on an Internet host computer.
This program, which coordinates the IP addresses and domain names for
all computers attached to it, is called DNS (Domain Name System)
software.
The host computer that runs this software is called a domain name
server.

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DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM(DNS)
www.udm.a.c.mu
• When an application specifies a
host name, request
• goes to local domain name
server and try lookup in its
stored cache
• if not stored there, then local
DNS requests address from a
2. www.udm.a.c.mu root server
• root server determines
http://www.udm.ac.
mu appropriate name server &
forwards request

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HTML
1. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language.
2. HTML is the standard markup language for Web pages.
3. HTML elements are the building blocks of HTML pages.
4. HTML elements are represented by <> tags.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Page Title</title>

<body>
<h1>This is a Heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
</body>

</html>
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WEB BROWSER
A web browser is a software program that allows a user to locate, access, and
display web pages. In common usage, a web browser is usually shortened to
"browser." Browsers are used primarily for displaying and accessing websites on the
internet, as well as other content created using languages such as Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) .
Browsers translate web pages and websites delivered using Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) into human-readable content. They also have the ability to display
other protocols and prefixes, such as secure HTTP (HTTPS), File Transfer Protocol
(FTP), email handling (SMTP), and files (FTP). In addition, most browsers also
support external plug-ins required to display active content, such as in-page video,
audio and game content.
Examples of browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Safari

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DEFINITIONS OF E-COMMERCE..
E-Commerce is online shopping via the Internet.
E-Commerce is any commercial activity conducted
electronically, particularly via private or open networks,
such as the Internet.
Electronic commerce is doing commerce with the use of
computers, networks and commerce-enabled software (more
than just online shopping).

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BUSINESS AND CONSUMER MODELS OF INTERNET ACCESS
It is useful to identify e-business opportunities in terms of whether an organisation is using the
Internet to transact with consumers(business-to-consumer – B2C) or other businesses (business-
to-business – B2B)
Business-to-consumer (B2C) - Commercial transactions are between an organisation and
consumers.
Examples – amazon.com(online stores), ebay.com(online auctions), internet
banking/online recruitment(online services)
Business-to-business (B2B)
Commercial transactions are between an organisation and other organisations.

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E-COMMERCE TRENDS…
Social networking continues to grow(Facebook, Twitter, IG
etc.)
Expansion of social e-commerce platform
Mobile computing and communications platform based on
smartphones and tablet computers (the “new client”)
becomes a reality and begins to rival the PC platform.
Explosive growth in online video viewing
Continued privacy and security concerns

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